An early reference to Change Ringing?

by A Thomas Miller

The English are serious, . . . They are good sailors and better
pirates, cunning, treacherous and thievish; above three hundred are said to be
hanged annually at London. , . . Hawking
is the general sport of the gentry; they are more polite in eating than the
French, devouring less bread, but more meat, which they roast to perfection. .
. . They are powerful in the field, successful against their enemies, impatient
of anything like slavery; vastly fond of great noises that fill the ear, such
as the firing of cannon, drums, and the ringing of bells, so that it is common
for a number of them, that have got a glass in their heads, to go up into some
belfry, and ring the bells for hours together for the sake of exercise. If they
see a foreigner very well made, or particularly handsome, they will say: 'It is
a pity he is not an Englishman!'